


Cats and Dogs

by Jabber_Moose



Category: Jeeves & Wooster
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-22
Updated: 2012-05-22
Packaged: 2017-11-05 20:25:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/410655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jabber_Moose/pseuds/Jabber_Moose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Reginald Jeeves was a boy, a stranger saved his life</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cats and Dogs

When Reginald Jeeves was a boy, a stranger saved his life.

To most, should they chance to hear the unspoken tale, it would be unremarkable. The stranger did nothing to grace the headlines. He did not push the boy from an oncoming carriage, nor did he ward off unwelcome bullies.

It was the simplest of things, on a typically dreary afternoon. The skies had opened on Jeeves on his way to meet his father, drenching his neatly slicked hair, and tossing mud onto his pristine shoes. While less than impeccable, the boy would never again leave without consulting the weather. Not for himself, but for the gentleman he would someday serve.

It was a sense of disappointment that filled him as he stepped to the side, seeking shelter in a nearby overhang, watching London flee from the downpour.

“No use in catching your death out here,” the voice was amused, kind, and suddenly the young boy was no longer subjected to the deluge. Looking up, he found was protected by a large umbrella, and warmed by a man staring back at him with laughter in his blue eyes.

“I apologize, sir,” Jeeves cleared his throat. “I shall be better directly.” Never let on to a gentleman of any discomfort, his father had informed him. A man relied on his valet to be nothing less than a well oiled machine.

The gentleman with the laughing eyes waved a hand, dismissively. “Come in, chap. Wherever you’re dashing off to will be there after you’re dried and warmed up. ”

“I apologize,” Jeeves repeated. “I must- “

“Well,” the man regarded Jeeves. “If you’re going to be stubborn, I’ll just bring you a cuppa.”

Jeeves could not protest, for the man pushed the umbrella into his hand, and vanished into an adjacent café without another word. For the life of him, he could not fathom why the stranger cared. There were plenty of children on the streets, after all.

Jeeves was nothing if not self-sufficient, after all.

“Here you are,” the man returned, pressing a steaming cup into Jeeves’ chilled hand. “I took a guess…I don’t suppose you would have fancied a cocoa.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jeeves accepted the drink. The rain was dying down, by now, but Reginald Jeeves was warmed, sheltered by a stranger’s kindness.

“Go on, then,” the man said, after a time. “If you’ve got someplace to be, best be on your way before it starts up again.”

Jeeves tilted his head in acknowledgement, and his mouth tugged, imperceptivity. He left the stranger and stepped out to the street. He was still clutching the umbrella.

“Sir,” Jeeves turned. “Your umbr-“

But the man was standing in the rain, head tilted to the skies. It wasn’t behavior befitting a gentleman in public, but the man was smiling, and he could not bring himself to disturb him. He turned on his heel, and left.

 

A decade or so later, Reginald Jeeves setting the kettle in a spacious flat in Berkeley Square, briefly glancing outside at the rain slicked streets, before exiting the kitchen to open the front door for the young master.

Bertram Wilberforce Wooster was shaking out a worn, though sturdy umbrella. “Dashed weather we’re having,” Bertie observed. “It’s raining cats and dogs, if I’ve got the whatsit.”

“Cats and dogs, sir,” Jeeves confirmed

“That’s the baby,” Bertie beamed with laughter in his eyes.


End file.
